BOYERTOWN >> On Thursday, June 28, at 6 p.m., Rep. David Maloney (R-Berks) will be hosting a ceremony designating a portion of Route 562 as the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Memorial Highway.
The designation will cover Route 562 from the intersection with Route 73 in the borough of Boyertown to the intersection with Route 662 at the township line between Amity Township and Oley Township.
The ceremony will be held at 1 S. Reading Ave., Boyertown (between the intersection Route 562 and Route 73). The public is invited to attend.
Representatives of the Spaatz family – Ruth Thomas, Carla Thomas and Katharine Gresham – will be in attendance along with representatives of the Civil Air Patrol and U.S. Air Force.
After the ceremony, the group will walk to the State Theatre for the Carl A. Spaatz Memorial Association’s dedication of the bronze bust of the 4-star general. The theater address is 61 N. Reading Ave., Boyertown (about a block away from the road dedication).
“This road-naming is made possible by legislation I drafted and ushered into law last year to honor the life of Gen. Spaatz,” Maloney said. “Born in Boyertown on June 28, 1891, Carl “Tooey” Spaatz was the first to serve as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force. One of the giants in the history of airpower, in 1929 Spaatz set an important flight endurance record of 150 hours and 40 minutes in the early days of aviation.”
As a warfighter during World War II, Spaatz commanded the Allied air campaign against the Nazis. In the Pacific Theater, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took place under his command. After retiring from the Air Force, Gen. Spaatz served as the first chairman of the Civil Air Patrol National Board.
“Carl Spaatz’s importance to military and civil aviation contributed to America’s domination in air power around the globe,” Maloney said. “His life is that of an American legend that serves as an example to all Americans. Designating one of our local roads in his name memorializes his contributions to aviation and our nation’s military, and will be a source of local pride and history.”
